Dash earn dominant victory over Washington Spirit

The Houston Dash look like a team desperate to make its first NWSL playoff appearance. Kealia Ohai’s goal in the 41st minute clinched Houston’s resounding 4-0 victory over the Washington Spirit at BBVA Compass Stadium on Friday night.

Houston’s attacking front three — Kealia Ohai, Rachel Daly, and Sofia Huerta — had its best performance of the season, with all three players combining for three goals. Ohai opened the scoring for the Dash, Huerta recorded a brace and Daly tallied two assists. Kyah Simon also added a spark to Houston’s attack with a late goal.

Ohai’s goal in the 41st minute saw the Dash play to their strengths and capitalize on the counter attack. Rachel Daly made a long run down the left flank and cut the ball back to Ohai, who finished with a low shot inside the near post to beat Audrey Bledsoe.

The Dash opened the second half on the attack as Sofia Huerta scored her sixth goal of the season in the 58th minute. Taylor Comeau found, a wide-open Huerta inside the box and the forward launched her strike into the top corner for a 2-0 Dash lead.

Huerta’s second goal of the night came in the 75th minute. Daly challenged Washington’s backline and played the ball towards the penalty spot. Huerta received the pass on a full sprint and rolled her finish into the far corner.

The Dash weren’t finished with three and found the back of the net for a fourth time in the 84th minute. Veronica Latsko’s through pass was dummied by Daly and fell to Simon’s feet. The Australian international struck her finish into the back of the net.

Jane Campbell had a strong performance making three saves to earn her third shutout of the season. In the 65th minute, Campbell denied Andi Sullivan to keep Washington off the board. Whitney Church swung a corner kick towards the near post and Andi Sullivan directed the ball towards the top corner with a header. Campbell dove to her left to make a key one-handed save.

With the victory, Houston move up to sixth place with a 7-8-5 record, 29 points and sit a single point behind the fourth place Orlando Pride. The Dash will play its most important game in franchise history when they travel to Memorial Stadium to take on Seattle Reign FC in a must-win contest on Tuesday night. Kickoff is scheduled for 10:30 CT.